The Comic Haul - 02/04/09

Back with another week of The Comic Haul. Let's get to it, shall we?

Agents of Atlas #1: Here's my pick of the litter for this week. AoA #1 is a long time in coming and worth every minute of the wait. Parker does a great job of bringing you into the Agents' world and, as he did in Mysterius before this, gives us a lot of exposition without making a single moment of it boring. Case in point, in this issue we get introduced to Norman Osborn and his interest in the Atlas Foundation, the hidden headquarters of the Agents, a bait and switch plot that introduces you to the powers and motivations of our principle characters and a Dragon eats Man Mountain Marko. How much more could you possibly want? Could it be a back-up story featuring the Agents and Wolverine in 1950s Cuba contending with brain controlling bugs? Yeah, I thought it might. The only negative thing I can say about the book is that Leonard Kirk isn't drawing it but 1)I never want him to leave Captain Britain (unless it is to return to AoA), and 2)Carlo Pagulayan is doing a phenomenal job in his place and looks to be quickly making this book his own. I can only hope that Marvel keeps putting out books like Agents of Atlas. I'll be spending more of the hard-earned cash in the Marvel U if they do, that's for certain.

Witchblade #124: I'll state my bias right off and say that I've never loved this concept or title much in the past. The gothic softcore stuff that Top Cow has been producing for 10+ years just doesn't catch my interest much. It should come as no surprise to anyone, then, when I say that I did not enjoy Witchblade #124 very much and have very few good things to say about it overall. Seeing Ron Marz' name on the cover had me hoping for at least a readable story. I mean, I bought a number of Wetworks issues when JM DeMatteis worked on it, so anything was possible, right? I have my doubts as to whether or not Marz even dialogued this one, to be perfectly honest. I've read his stuff before and it's never been quite this stiff and meandering. There was nothing to draw me in, here. The artwork by Stjepan Sejic had a couple of brief moments of coolness, but just don't think his stuff works well in sequential form. I suppose if you're a devotee of Greg Horn, you may find some appeal in Sejic's work, but I can't come back for another issue after this one. My Witchblade days are done.

Invincible Iron Man #10: I'm not at all happy with the artwork of Salvador Larroca in this issue, which disappoints me a bit. Salva is one of the reasons I still maintain any interest in this book despite slowing down, somewhat, since its initial storyline. Part of the ennui could be a result of how interweaved into the Marvel U Tony's story has become and I've never been a big cross-over summer event kind of guy. I do, however, really like Fraction's portrayal of Pepper and I'll admit that the Tony on the run does have some charm to it. Watching him dismantle his empire in order to keep it out of the hands of Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. has its moments. And the 'surprise' direction for Pepper has me kind of enthused for where things may be going. Still worth keeping up with if the cover price doesn't kill me in the end.

Dead Irons #1: It seems to be all the rage for popular artists to 'art direct' but not actually do anything more than the covers and that remains true of Dead Irons, the new horror/western out from Dynamite Entertainment. I really liked the artwork of Jason Shawn Alexander and, I'll admit, he is the primary reason for why I picked this book up. Still, the story by James Kuhoric feels very draggy and, for the most part, fails to even convey what it is you're reading. If you haven't read the solicitation text you may never know it's about a group of brothers and sisters-the Irons-who are all creatures of the night. Three have become bounty hunters and work both sides of the law, while one has dedicated himself to stopping his siblings. I think that's what it is about, anyway. Like I said, it was never entirely clear. The plot, such as it is, moves achingly slow and I almost put the book down twice before deciding to soldier on in order to finish it for this review. As always, I'll keep an eye on the series, maybe try another issue or two in the store and see if it develops its legs, otherwise this one is hitting the pass pile

Amazing Spider-Man #584: This issue was an improvement over the last which surprises me since so much of it is taken up by a slugfest. Normally I criticize books when they forego good dialogue and characterization to have a 22 page smack down, but I'm willing to entertain the idea that I not-so-secretly enjoy seeing Spidey giving or taking a whuppin' because I really enjoyed reading this one. And the way Romita, Jr. draws the whole affair is just sublime. I should also give props to Marc Guggenheim who managed to keep my interest this time around. As evidenced in my last review something about last issue just didn't click with me. It felt like there was too much exposition, too much plot with too little of anything else for someone just tuning in to latch on to and, as a result, I almost passed this one up. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the second part of "Character Assassination" was much better balanced and could be shaping up to be a fun ride.


Comments, as always, are welcome. Until next week.

Later!

mike

Reimagining the Classics

I stumbled across this while browsing around the internet. I'm not at all surprised that someone has decided to shave 25 pounds or so off of Botticelli's Venus, or any other classic piece of art, and I'm very much aware that Botticelli may have used men as his models as many artists did, but I find the overall idea of this to be repellent. If you are in the market for a reproduction of a classic piece of art, it should be an actual reproduction. Even if you're shifting mediums (yes, 2D painting is different from 3D sculpting) an effort should be made to give the consumer an item that vaguely resembles the original.

I was surprised to see the original blogger later posting an addendum to her original bit qualifying and back-tracking saying that the artist/sculptor probably did not do it for any sexist reasons but was, instead, driven by purely commercial ones. She also pointed out that the head on Michaelangelo's David is oversized so as not to look awkward from 13 feet below where most humans would be viewing it from, therefore art 'tweaks' are performed all the time to make them look more interesting. Hell, they'll even brighten up the colours in Photoshop when they're making their prints so it looks better on your wall.

I call bullshit.

I mean, come on, it's one thing to cosmetically change proportions on David's cranium if you were scaling it down to a desktop sized model, but it would be another thing entirely to enlarge his private parts or discreetly forget to include his pubic hair because these days women shun men with any body hair.

Personally, I'd like to see one of these on a museum shelf, maybe get a whole new demographic coming in.



Later!

mike

Snakes...Why Did It Have To Be Snakes

While this really has nothing to do with Indiana Jones, you can bet this article from Yahoo! News would possibly have left the intrepid doctor conflicted.



This artist's rendition may have been much cooler:





Might have sold a few extra copies of Nature.

Cheers!

"Desolation Row"

I haven't decided yet if I like this MCR cover of the Dylan song "Desolation Row" or not. I don't actively dislike it but I think I'll have to live with it for a while before coming to any real conclusions. It's interesting to hear them going back to a more old school punk style which, clearly, fits the era of the film really well and also with MCR's intentions to go with a more straightforward take on their post-Black Parade efforts. Zack Snyder, who directed the film, did the video as well.

My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row


Cheers!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 02/04/09

Welcome to yet another weekly installment of HK,C! and another fairly large pull-list which I won't be posting covers for, sorry.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.

Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.

Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.


THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST

INDIANA JONES FURTHER ADV OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 (Anything Indy is worth a look and some of these old Marvel issues had some crazy talent on them.)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #22 (I haven't read an issue in a while but I pick 'em up every month.)

ADVENTURE COMICS #0 (I'll buy just about anything for a buck.)

FINAL CRISIS LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #3 (OF 5) (Just as the other Legion book ends, this one picks up again. Good timing.)

SUPERGIRL COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE #3 (OF 6) (My kids tell me it's a blast.)

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #13 (I'm about halfway through the series, now, but I will catch up with this book.)

AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 (I can tell you right now this'll be on my best series of 2009 list.)

EUREKA #1 (OF 4) (Based on the TV series of the same name, my curiosity is piqued.)

30 DAYS OF NIGHT 30 DAYS TIL DEATH #3 (I liked the beginning, might as well read through to the end.)

FARSCAPE #2 (Continuing the story from a show cancelled well before its time.)

I AM LEGION #1 (OF 6) (I already own the Humanoids/DC version of this so I may pass on this until #2 hits shelves, but it's worth a mention here.)

That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at your LCS. If for some reason you don't know where that is, try here.

Later!

mike

Things You Should See

There's a new Andi Watson strip over at Tor.com called "Great Uncle George’s Will". Check it out if you haven't already.





Cheers!

mike

Steelers 27 Cardinals 23

Woo-hoo!



So, that was my first SuperBowl on the 42" monitor in HD, that I hosted, with my Dad and brother over for food and football. In all respects I think it worked out well. We had a hell of a lot of fun, the picture and sound were awesome, and the Steelers won the freakin' SuperBowl again!!!

Sometimes things work out pretty darn okay.

Woot!

mike

The Comic Haul - 01/28/09

A bit of an early Comic Haul this week (as well as a shorter one) since I'm crazy booked up this weekend with my Father-in-Law's birthday today and the SuperBowl tomorrow with a bunch of furniture building thrown in for good measure.

Superman #684: For the record I really liked the "New Krypton" storyline that ran across the Superman books for the last couple of months, so I was a bit non-plussed after reading this "Faces of Evil" issue featuring The Parasite. For starters, The Parasite wasn't in much of the issue except for a few pages at the beginning where he wanders around Metropolis whining about how he'd like a Daxamite sandwich. Elsewhere, the Guardian takes over as leader of the Science Police and gives a speech to his crew about how he won't expect anything from them that he wouldn't do himself and Superman visits New Krypton just in time to discover who the new military leader of the Kryptonians is. Cue dramatic music. Overall, this wasn't a bad issue but the whole thing felt like hitting the pause button while you go off to take a bathroom break. There's just not that much going on here and, had this been the only book I ha to read, I would feel a little less than satisfied. Still, there are worse ways to kill 10 or 15 minutes of your day so if you're going to read this one, try it on your coffee break or a short bus ride or something.

Batman #685: Another DC book, another flagship title, another "Faces of Evil" issue, this one by the Detective Comics team of Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen. This is the second part of two, a continuation from the aforementioned Detective where Hush finds himself in Vietnam and at the mercies of one Miss Selina Kyle. Kudos must go to Dini for making Hush, a character I never had much use for, a somewhat interesting villain for the last 6 months or so. It's likely not something that will hold for long but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. I should note that I also liked how Dini handled the Nightwing and Robin guest-appearance this issue. I actually like both of those characters more than the recent portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman so it was nice to see them here. I do wonder, though, does the fact that this story appears in Batman and Detective mean DC is spinning their wheels while Batman/Bruce Wayne is 'dead', filling issues with spacers until Morrison returns to maybe explain what all the R.I.P. nonsense was about? Only time will tell, I'm sure. As a simple no-frills two-parter, though, I really enjoyed this little detour with Catwoman and wish I could see more of these shorter stories from the Bat-books.

Star Wars: Legacy #32: In an attempt to do something new and continuity free with the Star Wars franchise Dark Horse launched Legacy, a series that takes place 40+ years beyond the stuff that fans are familiar with from the various films. Does it work? Sort of. Am I a fan of this? Not really. Although I do like other books from this line (Rebellion & Clone Wars to name two), I found Legacy and this issue's story to be kind of...fanfic-y. Without the usual SW touchstones or links to existing continuity, I just can't be bothered to care for these characters who have descended from the heroes we know, which really hurts a story like "Fight Another Day" because it's a very basic shoot-em-up bad guys doing evil things to the good guys yarn without a hook for a reader like me. Then again, maybe they don't want me as a reader. Anyway, not a bad comic but not really my cup-o-tea.

The Incredible Hercules #125: Everybody and their dog has reviewed this title and heaped mucho praise on the works therein so I figured I'd give it the ol' college try and see what all the hubbub was about. A few pages in I can't say that I was all that engaged, but seeing as how it was the fifth part of a five-issue story arc, I figured it would start to gel after a bit and I should just try to enjoy the story. Which, I'm surprised to say, I didn't. I just wasn't pulled in at any point. Amazons rule the world, men are second-class citizens, yadda-yadda-yadda. By the time I got to the end of the Amazon world-reshaped bit I was all ready to give the book a formal pass but the second I started reading the issue's 'epilogue' things changed. The smile started creeping in on my face and only continued to grow as I went on. All of a sudden, I wasn't drowning in the climax and resolution of a plot I had no stake in but basking in the wonderful characterizations that Pak and Van Lente have brought to bear. Hercules was never a fave character, for me, and I always just accepted him as Avengers muscle back in the day. But here, watching the bitter sting he experiences when he finds out that Namora's heart belonged to someone else is truly palpable and the line, "Ohh! Telepathy! How conveeenient!", when she gets summoned away by the Agents of Atlas, great stuff.

Welp, that looks like it for Week 2 of The Comic Haul. Since the time was a bit lite this week I may try to squeeze in a supplemental post tomorrow or the next day just to beef it up a little. There were a few more books I wanted to review but...such is life.

Oh, and before I forget, I need to come up with some kind of rating system for these things. I haven't been able to think of anything that ties into the Meanwhile... theme and I didn't want to do numbers or letters since so many other folks are doing those. Any ideas or input would be appreciated.

Until next week.

Later!

mike

Things I Thought Were Cool in 2008

I never kept any kind of list for a best of '08 post so I wasn't going to bother with one this year, especially since we're 30 days into it already. While doing my usual rounds of the blogosphere, however, I noticed that writer Rob Williams is saying "I don't swing that way" and doing an extremely belated hodge podge list of his own, regardless of the date. Taking his example (or at least using it as an excuse to generate content) I decided I was going to post a few random things I liked in 2008 posts to highlight the stuff that I remember liking. If I have any fun doing it, I'll maybe squeeze in a few things I remember hating, just for some balance.

It's no secret that not everyone was happy to see the return of Indiana Jones to screens in '08, but this was one Indy fan who enjoyed having the man in the hat back. After a very long drought post-Last Crusade it was exciting to have new stuff to be looking forward to, whether it was the comic books, the toys, the DVDs or the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull itself. I won't bother mentioning the Young Indiana Jones DVDs and the new paperbacks here because they're not exclusive to 2008. The first of the Young Indy sets came out in November of 2007, I think, and the new books don't drop until later this year.

Anyway, having new Indy comics has been a blast, especially in the hands of the aforementioned writer, Rob Williams. Many of Dark Horse's attempts at Indy stories in the past have fallen short of greatness and the Temple of the Gods has been a real trip, even if it's been plagued with delays, and the all-ages Indiana Jones Adventures digest/one-shot was marvellous. Probably one of the best Indy stories I've ever read.

The toys I won't really go on about here since I posted on them already a little while back.

I have yet to get my hands on a copy but a complete soundtrack collection was also released featuring all the music and some never before released extras from them man, John Williams.

And lastly, while the new movie is very much disparaged I had a lot of fun with it and have enjoyed it even more since grabbing it on DVD. The story moves at a quick enough pace that a lot of neat little things get lost as the plot zooms on and I love the callbacks to the last film in Indy's dialogue essentially showing that he's becoming his father. Actually, the shout out to the pilot episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was probably my favourite bit of dialogue in the whole film, believe it or not. And the spit after he mentions Victoriano Huerta, classic.

Overall a pretty good year for Dr. Jones and his many fans.

Cheers!

mike

Watching The Wire

I just finished season 2 of The Wire and I was, once again, utterly blown away by how good this show is. I was slow coming to it, having just started watching a couple of years ago, but since the discovery I do bang the drum hard and loud whenever and wherever I can. So far, I've had little luck hooking anyone on it, and have only gotten so far as getting Jen to watch an episode or two with me but, as the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed...

Back in the day, I loved David Simon's Homicide (which was developed by Paul Attanasio, Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson for NBC, then joined by Simon in the fourth season) and I was hesitant, initially, to jump on a show that was about wire-tapping and surveillance. I didn't know any of the actors and the fact that I didn't have access to HBO probably didn't help matters much, either. I think what finally put me over the edge, though, was an interview with Howard Chaykin over at The Word Balloon and he was talking about his first experience of the show. I think he said that when he was given the DVD set he locked himself in a room and watched all 12 hours in one sitting. It was a beautiful, sunny, California summer day outside, but he stayed in because he just couldn't stop watching. If you've ever seen the show then you already know its magnetic pull. How, on the surface, each episode seems very slow and nothing much seems to happen. And yet, every chapter of this story drives you into the next and the next after that until you get to the end. It is one of the densest, richest, well put together programs on TV; period.

I'm going to take a bit of a breather before embarking on season 3 where Simon, Ed Burns and Co. take on the Baltimore city bureaucracy, but I've got the anticipation building already.

Oh and, by the way, my birthday is in September and there is a complete DVD set of the series so, if you were fishing for ideas...

Cheers!

mike

Meanwhile... Birthday Shout-Out

I was cruising over at The Comics Reporter earlier this evening when I noticed that the 27th of January was the birth date of one Stefan Petrucha. Stefan has always been a favourite writer of mine from way back in the day. I still have a lot of fondness for Meta-4, his X-Files comic book work (which still stands as one of the best licensed comics I've ever seen and introduced an unknowing public to the artwork of Charles "Walking Dead" Adlard), Squalor (which lives again as Petrucha's Time Tripper book series) and the only Nexus story not done by Baron and the Dude that holds up for me, Nexus: The Liberator.

He's also done a lot of prose and YA work and his most recent novel, The Rule of Won is out there and getting great reviews from all over. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

So, a very happy Meanwhile... 50th birthday shout-out to Stefan. For many years of good reading and many more to come!

Cheers!

mike

Kim Manners (1950-2009)

This feels so weird, especially since I had an X-Files post just yesterday, but apparently Kim Manners, known for his time as a director on The X-Files and his current gig on Supernatural, passed away on Sunday from lung cancer. I was double checking Frank Spotnitz' Big Light blog today and saw the post there, then checked a few other sites online to get the whole story.

Man, I used to love watching he and Rob Bowman try to one-up each other week after week on The X-Files. I'll never forget episodes like "Home", "Humbug", "War of the Coprophages", "Closure" and many others whose scenes are permanently etched in my mind. I was thrilled a few years ago when I saw that he had become a regular on Supernatural along with X-Files alum, John Shiban. It was always fun following the old gang to their new digs and seeing what they were cooking up post Scully and Mulder.

For more tributes, Aint-It-Cool has a bit on Kim here and BuddyTV has a piece here. That's just a couple of the many that are floating around out there.

Manners was well-regarded in the industry and was a great director. My heartfelt condolences to his friends and loved ones. He will be missed.

Hey Kids, Comics! For 01/28/09

Welcome old and new to week 4 of HK,C! Kind of a big week with a number of books in the 'read only' category this time around.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.

Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.

Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.




THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST

MISTER X CONDEMNED #2 (OF 4) (I've always liked Mister X since back in the day but there is only so much cash to go around so I'll grab this one if I can, read it if I can't.)

UMBRELLA ACADEMY DALLAS #3 (OF 6) (Still haven't started reading this series yet, but based on the last one's performance, this is a no-brainer to pick up.)

BATMAN #685 (I'll probably grab this based on Dini's, Nguyen's and Fridolfs' excellent work on Detective, not to mention the cool Catwoman cover.)

BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1 (I'm not a huge fan of the series, but I'll give the comic a look-see.)

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #50 (It's done, it will be missed on my monthly pull-list but we'll see what eventually replaces it.)

FINAL CRISIS #7 (OF 7) (It's also done. We can finally say with certainty whether or not this was a pile of crap or another brilliant Morrison joint.)

REIGN IN HELL #7 (OF 8) (What can I say, I run a Keith Giffen news list. I have to at least read this.)

FANTASTIC FOUR #563 (As always, I'm loving what Millar and Hitch are doing with this title.)

BUCKAROO BANZAI BIG SIZE #1 (They're not as good as they should be, but I gotta support anything Buckaroo Banzai.)

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS DEAR BILLY #1 (My curiosity will likely get the better of me here.)

HERO SQUARED LOVE & DEATH #1 (OF 3) (And finally, the long awaited conclusion to the Hero Squared saga. Looking forward to reading this one.)


That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at the LCS.

Later!

mike

The X-Files 3 D2DVD?

I caught this rumour over on Screen Rant the other day regarding the future of the X-Files film franchise. D2DVD was never how I hoped the series would conclude, but after the pergormance of I Want to Believe this past summer I, and I'm sure many X-Philes, would take a puppet show if it meant the series could continue in some form. Recently, executive producer and writer, Frank Spotnitz, debunked the rumour stating there is no truth to it whatsoever, but conspicuously left out any info on what may or may not be happening with Fox right now.

Oh, well, at least we have the comic book for a few more months.

mike

The Comic Haul - 01/21/09

I made a resolution that I was going to try and do more, and more frequent, reviews on the blog, so I decided to start with this comic week and resurrect the ol' Comic Haul which hasn't made an appearance since July, I think, of last year. I also decided to change the format a little focusing on totally current books from a variety of publishers rather than what I've focused on in the past, which had more to do with what I was reading at the time than anything else. I should also note that the new reviews being posted will go up every Sunday which should give me enough time to acquire, read and write the thing up.

With luck, this will be the first step of several that I would like to take with Meanwhile... that will expand the scope a little and bring some new regular content to the site.

So, without further ado...

Robin #182: DC bills this as the stunning conclusion to "Search for a Hero" but, in all honesty, the story lost its gravity about two or three issues ago when it just would not end. None of the hanging plot threads showed any promise of being resolved and the character moments were either too few, or too flat, to carry this thing over six whole issues. Everything from Robin's 'betrayal' by Stephanie/Spoiler, to the big villain reveal, lacked the necessary punch to make this anything other than another decompressed, dragged out summer event space-filler. I started buying this book when Chuck Dixon returned and, with the exception of the work done by Freddie Williams, have continually questioned why I have stayed with it beyond his departure. Seeing as how the series is 'ending' with the next issue, I'll probably grab the finale, throw them in the longboxes and find something that will engage me a little more.

The Mighty Avengers #21: The new team of Dan Slott and Khoi Pham kick off a three part post-Secret Invasion tale that has a very getting the band back together vibe to it. Not surprising, Slott and Pham do their level best to come out swinging and put their stamp on the book right away. The Scarlet Witch returns, Hank Pym's origin is retold, Mount Wundagore makes an appearance (as do a couple of characters who have a connection to that particular locale) and we see all the founding members it was physically possible to assemble, including an appearance by Jarvis. A lot of big ideas are slung around and Slott clearly has an affection for Dr. Pym and a desire to make him a player in the new Marvel status quo but, thankfully, not at the expense of past characterizations. Pham's artwork is capable and consistent, although I wasn't a fan of his Wundagore pages, and I expect he will really round out as an artist and continue to evolve with a monthly book to grind away on. Still, while I can appreciate what these guys are doing here I did feel that this issue had a little too much flash and just not enough substance to make me want to come back on any kind of regular basis.

30 Days of Night: 30 Days 'Til Death #1: I was originally going to pass this one over but the idea of the 30 Days franchise bringing in David Lapham and his idea that the old world vamps, unhappy with the events at Barrow and beyond, are coming to cull the herd in the new world suckered me in to trying this first issue. Considering the differences in style between Lapham and Templesmith's I thought I would be trying to reconcile the two while reading this but, luckily, I found that was not the case. Lapham's art was simple but engaging and only really lost me in one scene where a couple of his designs for the old world vamps felt a little...off. The story itself is definitely a slow burn with events unfolding at a pretty leisurely pace, but there are a few choice moments that will probably be enough to bring me back for another go.

Ghost Rider #31: I haven't bought, let alone read, a Ghost Rider comic since the nineties so I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed GR#31. Tan Eng Huat was the initial draw as I've been a fan of his work since his Doom Patrol revival with John Arcudi but, I have to say, the story by Jason Aaron was very fun and entertaining. I normally rail against the idea of turning every super-hero into a legacy character since it is something that is sooo overdone, but Aaron has spun this concept of Spirits of Vengeance from all over the world and every religion and it's part of what I'm finding really compelling about this book. Huat's storytelling is still top notch here handling both action and dialogue scenes with aplomb. Robert Boschi tag-teams with Huat for a few pages doing the first five pages of the book (which are a flashback) and the styles are sympatico enough that it doesn't derail the reader at all when the transition is made. Lastly, kudos to these guys for having a story so accessible that I can come into it with the penultimate issue and still be able to follow what's going on. The only downside with Ghost Rider #31 is the fact that after next issue, Huat is gone. I may stick around to see how Tony Moore handles the character.

Lone Ranger & Tonto #2: I'm not a regular reader of the monthly Lone Ranger book but I really enjoyed the first Lone Ranger & Tonto story so I grabbed this one when I saw it on the shelf this week. The story has the Ranger and Tonto riding into a mining town called Reston and discovering something is not quite right about the place. They soon uncover the legend of a monster that terrorizes the citizenry and who is ultimately responsible for the place being no better than a ghost town. They investigate, interesting things happen, and I won't spoil the ending for anyone who might pick this up to read if they haven't already. Story-wise, Brett Matthews and Neil Turitz do not disappoint delivering a very moody piece that hits various western tropes and is perfectly complemented by the artwork of Vatche Mavlian and Romulo Fajardo, Jr. who give the book a really unique look and texture. Worth checking out.

Mysterius the Unfathomable #1: Wow. How much did I enjoy this book? Jeff Parker has always been a favourite creator here at Meanwhile... HQ but I haven't enjoyed a comic like Mysterius in some time. From page one Parker spins a kooky and really fun read focusing on a mystic named Mysterius who performs tasks of a magical nature for clients who can pay. He's shifty, out of shape and just generally doesn't come across as an entirely on-the-level kind of guy, but that's precisely what makes him interesting. His assistant, Ella/Delfi, tries her best to keep up with all the mystical aspects of being and working around Mysterius, mostly because she doesn't have anywhere else to go. The dialogue is crisp and witty and, as far as introductions go, there wasn't a lot of clunky exposition here which helps things along nicely. The artwork of Tom Fowler is perfect for this series. It reminds me a little of the work of Glenn Barr and he does a great job of balancing the brilliant and the banal. There's humour but also an underlying seriousness, like there is a darkness creeping around on the sidelines somewhere that Mysterius knows about but we, the reader, as yet, do not. Hopefully the series will have some life in it and not get cancelled after three issues so we can see how that element plays out down the line. It's not every day one of the big companies put out a book as idiosyncratic as this one and I applaud DC/Wildstorm for doing just that because Mysterius the Unfathomable is, in my opinion, a book that should be watched. And bought and read, of course. I fully advocate all three activities.

The X-Files #3: I realize that I'm just so damn happy to see The X-Files back in any form, and that the series, to date, hasn't been received very well, but I genuinely enjoyed this issue as I have the three previous to it. Written by Marv Wolfman (a name any comics fan should already know) this issue has Scully and Mulder trying to figure out how murders are being perpetrated in different locations at the same time by the same killer. There's some Chinese mysticism thrown in there to give it that X-Files feel, and I suspect there might be some mad science mixed in there for good measure, as well. Wolfman handles the usual back and forth between the two main characters like he was a series writer and the story fits well into the X-Files universe. Brian Denham continues on the art (having illustrated the previous two issues and the zero issue) and is possibly the weakest link here. While much of his work works beautifully and evokes the best cinematography of the series, there are many panels that are overly stiff and he does not seem to feel confident drawing Mulder or Scully unless he's grabbing it from a screen capture or publicity still. Overall, everything flows nicely and the only real complaint I have is that series executive producer and writer, Frank Spotnitz, does not appear to be writing these anymore. Nothing against Wolfman's work, it just feels like canon when Spotnitz pens the tale, and that's the closest we can come to new X-Files episodes these days.

Amazing Spider-Man #584: I've purchased a number of the Brand New Day issues of Amazing Spider-Man, usually whenever a creative team tickles my fancy. For example, I grabbed the Waid/Martin issues, the Kelly/Bachallo issues and a few others since Peter and MJ made their deal with Mephisto. This weeks issue was by Marc Guggenheim and John Romita, Jr., possibly my favourite Spider-Man artist of all time, so I was excited to see what was in store. Not much, apparently. "Character Assassination" appears to continue a storyline that I missed somewhere along the way where Spider-Man is wanted for being a serial killer and some guy in a ridiculous Goblin inspired costume is calling himself Menace and...well, menacing folks. All the issues I've read previous to this were two or three part stories that did not seem to have any long-term continuity, a very old school approach which was one of the reasons I was attracted to them. As it stands, Guggenheim's writing was serviceable and I really liked seeing JR, Jr. doing pages again, but overall I just couldn't get too wrapped up in the story.

And with that, the first Comic Haul of 2009 is complete. I'll be back next Sunday with another batch, so until then...

Later!

mike

"And Get Me Doctor Doom."

From Captain Britain and MI13 #9, possibly one of the coolest last pages of a comic book in a long time:



I know I can't possibly be the only one who thinks this. I mean, Dracula and Doctor Doom teaming up in the Marvel U just hits all the right super-villain team-up buttons as far as I'm concerned. I knew Paul Cornell was playing by his own set of rules when I started picking up this book 4 issues ago, especially after he had Blade join the team, but after reading that last word balloon where he says, "Tell our forces in London to prepare Phase One of the assault. And get me Doctor Doom," I just started laughing. I'm sure my wife thought I was nuts.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've gotten so much pleasure out of a Marvel comic, I just had to share. And if you're not reading Captain Britain and MI13 yet, what's keeping you.

Cheers!

mike

Whiteout Pics

Twould appear that the first images from the film adaptation of Greg Rucka and Steve Leiber's Whiteout are out and making their way around the net. Kate Beckinsale plays the role of U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko who is tracking a killer in Antarctica, moving from station to station as she chases down suspects and discovers more murders (that is, if it follows the story in the comics in any way shape or form). As a graphic novel, Whiteout was a cracking good read (along with its sequel, Whiteout: Melt) so I'm going to go out on a limb and actually have some hopes for this movie being good. The cast seems all right at a glance: Beckinsale, Gabriel (The Spirit) Macht, Tom Skerritt, Alex O'Loughlin and others.

Comments from Rucka in this audio interview make it pretty clear that the movie sort of goes its own way rather than hitting the comic book beat for beat (as well as addressing the point thatKate is so much prettier than Carrie is), but I do dig how they've taken the cover for the comic book and made it into the theatrical one-sheet as pictured below.



At least she still loses her fingers. Yay!

Well, Rucka seems to like it so lets knock wood and hope that the film is just as entertaining, if not more, than the books. The release date is September 11, 2009, so I'm thinking I'll see if I can get a group of people together and hit the show as a birthday thing.

Cheers!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 01/21/09

Welcome to week 3 of 2009 and my pull-list picks.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.

Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.

Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.






THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST

FINAL CRISIS SUPERMAN BEYOND #2 (OF 2) (I'll track a copy down to read but I have a strict policy only to buy the core FC mini.)

ROBIN #182 (I think this is supposed to be the end of Robin as it was and the beginning of something new. I guess we'll see if I continue on after the changes in February.)

SPIRIT #25 (The only place to get new - good - Spirit stories. never mind that crap Miller movie.)

X-FILES #3 (OF 6) (The art is stuff, sure, but I'm digging the return of Scully and Mulder like nobody's business.)

AGENTS OF ATLAS POSTER (Art Adams poster which will also be used as the cover of #1, I believe. I'd grab this if I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket.)

ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #16 (The penultimate After the Fall issue. Looking forward to wrapping this one up and seeing where it goes.)

FLAMING CARROT COLLECTED LTD HC VOL 01 (This would be sweet if it wasn't $50.)


That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at the LCS.

Later!

mike

It Figures

Last night at Wal-Mart I picked up another figure from the latest Indiana Jones series of toys. I had heard that the Temple of Doom wave was one of the harder ones to find, so when I ran across a Temple Indy with ripped shirt and Thuggee sword, I had to grab it. I mean, at $3.92 a figure can a guy really go wrong?

I wasn't planning on collecting the Indy toys despite being a huge fan of the character and franchise, but it's really hard to turn away when they're sitting at these costs right now. Granted, it's hard to be too happy when I know the only reason these are being cleared out at these prices is because they've killed the whole line and the shops are trying to get rid of whatever stock they have left, but that's also all the more reason to stock up on whatever I can while I can.

Other Indy figures and what-not that I've picked up include the German jeep from Raiders (from the truck chase), a couple of small Titanium series miniatures of the truck dragging Indy and the rocket sled from Crystal Skull, an Indy Mighty Muggs figure, and my first purchase from when the film came out, the 12" talking Indy figure.

I was going to grab Mola Ram and some Thuggee guards when I made my way back but they've quickly sold out, no doubt to folks just like me. I'm also still debating if I want to grab some of the deluxe figures for $4. We'll see how it goes.

Back to the grind!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 01/14/09

Welcome to the second wednesday of 2009 and the first HK,C! kicking off the New Year. Not a very big week by any stretch of the imagination, but that's probably a good thing in a post-boxing day and January sales sort of environment.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.

Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.

Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.




THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST

FINAL CRISIS #6 (OF 7) (I have really started warming up to this series and look forward to the big conclusion.)

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #9 (My happy find of 2008 and I look forward to every issue.)

WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ #2 (OF 8) (I missed out on this last month so the decision to start with #2 and try and find #1, or wait for the trade now preys on my mind.)

GHOSTBUSTERS THE OTHER SIDE #4 (I've been buying these but not reading them after the first issue. Love the GB but this series is leaving me a little disappointed.)

And that would be all she wrote, folks. I hope you have a happy new year and a great Wednesday at the LCS.

Later!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 12/31/08

Welcome to the last HK,C! of 2008! Not a very big week for the ol' pull-list but there's at least one book that I was looking forward to that will be a guaranteed puick-up for the week.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.

Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.

Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.



THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST

STAR WARS CLONE WARS TP VOL 02 CRASH COURSE (I have been buying the monthly but haven't committed to the digests just yet.)

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #49 (Almost to the end. I've liked what I've read of Shooter's run and it's the first time I've actually collected a Legion book in years. Wonder if it will last past the reboot.)

FANTASTIC FOUR #562 (This is just good comics.)

And that would be all she wrote, folks. I hope you have a happy new year and a great Wednesday at the LCS.

Later!

mike

Four Years and Counting!

Four years ago I bit the bullet, registered with Blogger and posted this. The whole motivation for doing so was a kind of New Years resolution type thing where I had decided that a Blog would serve the purpose of keeping me in practice, writing-wise, possibly keep me in touch with the world wide web (which I had sort of unplugged from), and act as an online journal (something that I've never been able to successfully accomplish with pen and paper).

I never really had a solid plan or theme to operate under so the blog has wandered, often aimlessly, between journal, linkblog, pop culture commentary and the like. It tends to follow the ebb and flow of my own haphazard approach to my interests, so at least I can be happy that, if nothing else, the blog accurately reflects me and my personality.

Still, I'm trying to figure out what, if any, defining quality it may have and what I want to continue doing with it into the new year. I think its overall lack of focus is part of the reason why I have never really had a group of regular readers who visit the site and comment on the posts like other blogs. I mean, it's not like I'm a review or news or gossip blog that people make a point to visit. A destination site, like a digital big box store. The stuff I have been doing for the last four years has usually been pretty random, and often irregular, musings that do not serve the goal of community building very well. Not that that is the only reason I continue to post on the site, but there has always been an attraction to having more interactivity with Meanwhile... and that might be a motivation for tightening things up a bit this year. We'll see how it goes.

Community building aside, I would also like to do more reviews, so I may make a resolution this year to take that on. If you are a regular reader be sure to take me to task if I don't stick to that particular resolution. I've also toyed with and tried, in the past, to launch a new interview blog, which would get me back to doing something that I love. I spent so many years doing it that I feel a little strange now that I'm no longer in the loop. I've posted about it before and it is something that I am still interested in so it may be one of the things I try to tackle in 2009.

I think I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that, despite the 'problems' I list above, the biggest accomplishment I have made so far is the fact that I'm four years in and not completely balls-up bored of sitting down from time to time and posting something. It's a long time to keep coming back and doing this, especially without some format or umbrella to hide under when desperately seeking inspirado.

And, with that, I take my leave. Thanks to everyone who has visited in the past and, as I said in my first post, I hope it hasn't been a total snorefest. I raise a glass to four down and many more to come!

Cheers.

mike

Merry Christmas!

Hey Kids, Comics! For 12/24/08

It's a Christmas edition of HK,C! and I'm shocked and amazed to see that I'll be making the trip out to my LCS on Christmas Eve for a book or two (much to my family's chagrin, I'm sure).

Bold is what I will grab for sure.
Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.
Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.

INDIANA JONES & TOMB OF THE GODS #3 (OF 4) (FINALLY! I thought the next Indy adventure was going to be finding out what happened to this issue.)

MISTER X CONDEMNED #1 (OF 4) (Might be worth a peek.)

UMBRELLA ACADEMY DALLAS #2 (Haven't started the first issue yet but I really enjoyed Way and Ba's first effort and I don't want to get behind.)

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #3 (It's interesting having these kids books that aren't based on TV shows and Kunkle is doing a nice job on this series.)

FARSCAPE #1

That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday and a freakin' sweet Christmas Eve, folks! Happy Holidays!

mike

Sometimes I Hate the WWW

Surfing around, whether it's on the WWW or on comment boards on iTunes and the like, I find myself shaking my head more often than not. We all knew that the art of communication was going the way of the Dodo, but the level of discourse and literary ability of most of these people actually scares me a little bit.

I know it's nothing you haven't seen or heard before if you've spent even 10 minutes on the web, I just wanted to pop on and say something so I don't seethe in private and get an ulcer or something.

Later!

mike

Wolverine: Origins

I didn't have great hopes for this movie but the trailer (as seen below) actually looks not too bad. Unless something else deters me, this trailer has at least made me want to catch this one on the big screen in May.



Later!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 12/17/08

It feels like no time has passed since last week when I did this. Heck, I haven't even read half the books I picked up! Anyway, here is, as always, the legend:

Bold is what I will grab for sure.
Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.
Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #20 (I'm still, like, six issues behind on reading this title so no hurry on the new issue.)

HELLBLAZER #250 (Looking forward to seeing what Milligan can do on this book although Diggle will be missed.)

ROBIN #181 (Does Batman R.I.P. kill this book for me or does it go on to rise above the tie-in quagmire it has been in for 4 months.)

SPIRIT #24 (Love this book but still a few issues behind reading-wise.)

X-FILES #2 (OF 6) (This one's a no-brainer.)

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #12 (Still catching up but I am enjoying the series.)

That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday, folks!

mike

Hey Kids, Comics! For 12/10/08

Missed last week but here's the pull-list for this week. The legend, as always, is as follows:

Bold is what I will grab for sure.
Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.
Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy.:






STAR WARS CLONE WARS #3 (OF 6) (I love the show and I'm enjoying the comic.)

AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #5 (OF 6) (Almost done.)

FINAL CRISIS #5 (OF 7) (Decided to can Secret Invasion and stick with the FC)

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #8 (Still surprises me that I'm hooked on this book but it's great fun.)

COURTNEY CRUMRIN AND PRINCE OF NOWHERE (I grab anything Courtney Crumrin, no questions asked.)

And that's the list for Dec. 10, 2008. See you next week and have a great Wednesday!

mike

Tragedies of English Language Use

#3 in a continuing series.

The word for today is penultimate.

I was reading a review of The Dark Knight today over at DVD Talk and the reviewer made an incorrect word choice that I encounter often in print and in conversation, and it inspired me to post about it. Not that anyone is actually reading this, but at least I can say I did my part.

I'll quote the passage from the review:

"Headlined by a penultimate performance from the late Heath Ledger..."

See, it's a common mistake because it seems like the 'pen' prefix is emphasizing the 'ultimate' (as if it made it even more ultimate than before) but, in reality, the word means 'next to last' so its use here is wrong. I guess, in this context, it could be argued that Heath Ledger's ultimate performance was his subsequent suicide, but I'm pretty confident that this was not the writer's intent.

Yeah, I'm being a little cheeky.

Anyway, I kind of expect to see it coming from the odd blogger, board poster, or possibly a high school student, but I find it a little embarrassing when professional writers make this mistake. And it happens often enough that it gets me a little wrankled.

Coming up next time on Tragedies of English Language Use, the double negative, irregardless.

mike

Wish Fulfillment

If I had the money and the ability to, I would so totally go and see this.

And I was just telling Jen how I'd finally come to terms with the fact that Blur was over. After Gorillaz, Think Tank, and the The Good the Bad and the Queen, it was time to accept that the likelihood of Blur making another album together was iffy to nil. Graham leaving the band didn't kill them creatively, but it seemed like the desire to go on beyond their last three-man effort was gone.

Now, they reunite for a live show that I can't go to, probably the last time they'll do a live show, with Graham, no less.

*sigh*

mike

"Oh, Canada!"

What can I say, I'm embarrassed by the political situation in my country. Sure, it's a minority government and everybody hates the right wing, but forming a coalition between the Liberal and NDP parties? Now, bear in mind that this coalition would be led by the guy who was told he wouldn't be continuing as leader of the Liberal party after the last election, and that it is supported by the Bloc who, by nature, serves Quebec's own self-interests (and yet, strangely, is a national party), in the hopes of toppling the democratically elected Conservative party and current Prime Minister.

And all of this just 7 weeks after we had an election. What is this, 4 or 5 in the last six years?

And people call American's crazy.

Update: I just caught this quote from Jack Layton on Google News:

"I cannot have confidence in a prime minister who would throw the locks on the door of this place, knowing that he's about to lose a vote in the House of Commons. That's denying about as fundamental a right as one has in a democracy."

What an ass. Yeah, and creating a party, deposing the current leader, and installing yourself as the Big Kahuna are what the principles of Democracy are based on. These guys all behave like children on the Hill (and I'm including everyone here, not just the folks I don't like) and I just want to shake my head any time I see them speak on any 'issues'.

And never let it be said that the NDP would ever turn down an idea that would get them closer to the power they could never attain on their own.

If they manage to knock the Conservatives out, bully for them. If they have the stuff to solve our country's problems I'm all for it! But 38% of Canadians did vote for Harper's tories while none of the other parties, individually, managed to top that so, if they want to form a new coalition party, they should have another election and see if the remaining 62% of Canada rallies behind them. That seems fair to me. Not just slip in and start playing house under the assumption that if you didn't vote Conservative you clearly would have voted for the Coalition, especially with Dion at the helm.

There is a reason the Liberals have been failing to get the kind of support they need outside of Ontario and Montreal. They spent 16 years in power getting fat, lazy, and cocking it up more often than they got it right. I would gladly vote for them again if they came off as gave a little less lip service and stopped blowing smoke up my ass.

Update 2: Just caught this from Layton also said his party expects to vote against the government at the earliest opportunity.

Don't you even want to see the budget, Jack?

I also point you to this article from The National Post. I find this a bit disturbing:

Although only two parties have signed this accord, the coalition cannot survive without the support of the Bloc Quebecois. The Bloc negotiated a permanent consultation mechanism and will have veto power over any major initiative, including he budget and all measures it deems of interest to Quebec.

mike

"Oh, the Horror!"

Got home from work Wednesday night, poured myself a glass of Coke and sat down at the computer to check my e-mails and what-not. Jen is sitting behind me working on her laptop and we're talking, happy sounds are steadily pumping out of the iTunes. For all intents and purposes, a pretty decent and calm evening home after work with the wife and kids.

Then I go and smack my Coke glass with my hand, firing caramel coloured liquid sugar all over a bunch of DVDs and CDs that sit next to my computer desk.

About an hour-and-a-half later, I've cleaned up the mess with only a few minor, but significant, casualties. The Coke came off of everything without problem except for my David Bowie Black Tie, White Noise collector's set, and there was a minor smudge left on my limited edition White Limousine disc by Duncan Sheik. Two of my Buffy sets suffered some minor damage (of the so sticky it peeled variety) and the slipcase to an X-Files: Mythology set was stained as a result (brown Coke, white case).

All-in-all I got off pretty easy, despite the stuff getting absolutely freakin' everywhere. I'm still a bit emotionally spent by the whole ordeal, but I'm not freaking out, as my wife pointed out, so that's a good thing. We'll see how I cope in the days and months to come.

Later!

mike